no one loves you better than your m-o-double-m-y

Happy Mother's Day!  Jade had asked if they could make me breakfast in bed for Mother's Day, and I was a little reluctant because 1) when I wake up I wanna get out of bed to start my day, not wait around for three hours for the rest of them to rise; and 2) since I work out in the morning, my breakfast usually consists of decaf coffee and 2 tablespoons of whole roasted flaxseed on a spoonful of peanut butter with a dab of honey.  I dip the spoon in the peanut butter, drizzle a little honey on it, then scoop up a healthy dose of flaxseeds.  That doesn't translate well to breakfast in bed, and not just because I would spill some seeds between the sheets (that sounds naughty), and it would be like having cracker crumbs in bed (although, presumably, Bell would not kick me out).

* My nice family surprised me with a brand-new Seagull acoustic guitar, sized perfectly for a diminutive person such as Yours Truly.  I've been wanting to learn to play for a while now, and this is just the thing I need to transition me into rock-stardom.  I will not, however, quit my day job while my guitar gently weeps.

* In addition to a lovely little book-like card, Kai delivered this note to me this morning:

Translation: "What would you like for dinner?"

* Speaking of Mother's Day, early last week Jade and Bell both complained of sore throats.  This was particularly bad news for Jade, whose class had a three-day field trip to Catalina Island planned starting (last) Wednesday.  I mentioned that I vaguely remember hearing that apple cider vinegar will knock out a sore throat.  But it has to include "the Mother," which means it is unfiltered. ("The Mother" refers to certain beneficial enzymes and whatnot.)

We just happened to have apple cider vinegar with The Mother on hand, and no sooner did I mention this when Bell whipped out a shot glass and downed a shot.  Then he poured one for Jade who, quite conveniently, was sitting at the bar, but she was not so willing.  When there's something she doesn't want to do, she has to complain about it many many times.  This is her way of processing the bad stuff (or simply complaining).  "You don't have to drink it," I told her, "but if you've got a bad cough and sore throat there's no way you're going on the field trip."  I turned away while she sat eyeing the shot glass and Bell proclaimed his sore throat better already. 

At some point when we were ignoring Jade she downed the shot, and I know this because she said, "My stomach burns!  Owwww!"  I tried to focus on the positive, but for several hours that night she complained that her stomach burned.  As time wore on, I totally blew her off because I've drinken ACV before and yes, it does feel like battery acid initially, but it goes away. Sometimes.  Sort of.

Anywho, after Jade went to bed I decided to check the Internets about this claim that ACV cures a sore throat, and sure enough, it purportedly does.  However, I discovered it should be diluted in water and gargled, not thrown back like a shot of Jack Daniels.  Ooops.  Fortunately, Jade's throat did get better and she went to Catalina and got to dissect a squid and go snorkeling and pet a giant bat ray and not shower for three days.   

* On Friday Kai's class held a Mother's Day Tea.  Kai had been very excited about this beforehand, especially when his teacher said the kids had to wear dressy clothes. I think the other boys in the class "forgot" to tell their mothers because many of them were in shorts or jeans while the girls were allllll pertied up.  As was Kai.  For as you know, Kai is all about the style.  I got him a little white linen shirt, and my friend Sue, who owns a school uniform conglomerate, hooked me up with a bitchin' red power tie, perfectly sized for the dapper 5 year old.  Kai topped off his outfit with, of course, his cowboy boots, and the ladies never had a chance. 

After the mothers opened their child's handmade gift, the kids lined up and sang this song.  If you're not a mama, maybe it seems corny to you but there was not a dry eye in the house.  And the best part was that while each kid looked at his/her mama while singing, my kid winked at me (several times) during the song, like he was pitching woo or something.  He totally killed me softly with his song.

And the winking thing? He does that a lot, and it makes him seem so mature.  So much so that my friends do a double-take and ask, "Did ... Kai just wink at you?"  I am not sure who he thinks he is or where he learned this, but he has developed several variations on this theme: sometimes it's a straight-up wink; sometimes he clicks and winks.  When something pleases him he he winks, clicks, and gives a thumbs-up, as here:

My personal favorite is the wink, click, and making his hand into a gun and shooting at me.  It gets me every time. 

* Lady Skittles doesn't know this yet but since she is also a mother, we are giving her a surprise mani-pedi this evening.  We have not been diligent about trimming her or Lord Chubblesworth's claws like we were with Hamlet.  They were so skittish in the beginning that we did not want to freak them out.  But they've grown quite comfortable and loving and into a nice routine here--both like to sit in each of the two bathroom sinks and watch while I put my face on--it's time to show them who is really in charge.  We're going to attempt to put on nail caps tonight.  I expect it will take a series of attempts before each cat gets a complete set.  Just for grins, I may top off the kitty spa service with an eyebrow waxing.

* And finally, when we were newly minted parents for the first time almost a decade ago, Bell and I were walking with Baby Jade down the streets of Old Town Alexandria.  She was but a couple of weeks old.  Bell wore her in a Baby Bjorn while she cried that wee newborn cry, and as people passed they'd smile.  As one woman walked by she said, "Aww, enjoy it now. It doesn't get any better than this!" (which I think was supposed to convey how special having a newborn is, but instead it frightened us).  "It doesn't?" asked Bell. This did not bode well for us.

Turns out, however, it does get better.  All the time.

Comments

[CM]

Happy belated Mother's Day!

Why is Jade's dog saying "Boof boof"?

I imagine that if Kai had a dog, he would dress it up like the one in his note and it could be his sidekick. If you think he's charming the ladies now, watch out.

[CM]

(By the way... thank you for the advice about baby timing. Tempting as it may seem when K is in a super-cute and well-behaved stage, I don't know if I want to handle two babies at once.)

[viola]

dgm, I agree-oh-so-whole-heartedly regarding your comment that it does get better....all the time! It has for us. I enjoyed the baby stage, but was very nervous and felt I had to do everything perfect. Now I love EVERY stage they are going through. Even prepubescence is awkward, cute, and quirky. It's a privelege to be a part of helping our little guys successfully through these stages. What a charmer that little Kai is!
I too have tortured my children with a couple of home-remedies-gone-a-little-awry. But like yours, they turned out to be all right in the end.

[hippo Brigade]

I gotta try that apple cider vinegar stuff. I currently have a sore throat and whatnot, and I would love for my stomach to burn for an evening...if it will get rid of my sore throat.

[viola]

I heard ACV is great for weight loss---probably because it burns the stomach and makes a person want to go to bed without dinner...

[BOSSY]

It's getting better all the time. Bet-ter, bet-ter, bet-ter! You know, those should really be lyrics.